


(Almost) Better Than Honey Cakes

by Koneko713



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-10-27
Packaged: 2017-12-30 16:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koneko713/pseuds/Koneko713
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili has always had a different idea of love from most dwarves.  He doesn't want to live alone with his crafts, but he doesn't want the kind of relationship he hears about from dwarves who have found their One.  Add in falling in love with his own brother, and Kili's life is rather complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Almost) Better Than Honey Cakes

**Author's Note:**

> Tally and I were bemoaning the lack of ace!Kili fic and then this happened. I hope it's good.  
> All my thanks go to Tally for her infinite patience as I tried to wrap my head around writing something completely new, and to Jynx for looking it over for mistakes as well. Couldn't do it without either of you, thanks!

Kili could pinpoint the exact moment when he realized he was different.  He had grown up in a settlement of dwarves, and they were not as a whole very open about their romantic or sexual attractions.  Sure, the older warriors could get a little rowdy in the taverns some nights, but everyone there knew that the tales of their exploits were highly exaggerated versions of their youth.

Everyone knew that most dwarves had one single person that they would love, and most of them usually found that person without great incident.  That meant there was a certain amount of romantic entanglements among the younger dwarves, but Kili had never felt any need for that.  Some dwarves didn’t have a One, after all, some dwarves focused only on their crafts.  He assumed he fell into that second category.

Then he reached adulthood, and he started having feelings that made no sense.  He didn’t know if it was attraction, because none of what he overheard Dwalin talking about in his cups appealed _at all_.  But suddenly the thought of romance didn’t seem like a horrible one after all.  He wanted more than friendly jostling and hard punches to the shoulder in response to his horrible jokes.  He wanted to run his hands through silky hair and pull it from its elaborate plaits and then re-braid them again, see the other proudly wearing his courtship braids for all to see.  Sometimes, very rarely, he found himself wondering what it would be like to if he overcame his fears and just asked for a kiss.  If the other’s lips would be chapped or soft, warm or cool, gentle or firm and pushing.

The worst thing about these confusing, uncontrollable thoughts was that they all centered around _Fili_.

This wasn’t normal, Kili knew that.  Not normal to fantasize this way about his brother, and not normal that the thought of taking it any farther than curious kisses just seemed…well, the only word he could think of was _boring._   He could hardly ask Fili about this, like he did with everything else.  Finally he buried his feelings, deciding that he had to accept that he would never know what this meant, and went on with his life as usual.

That worked for a couple of decades.  He was fairly sure that Fili never found out, or if he did, his brother didn’t say anything.  They continued their normal, happy lives in the small town in Ered Luin, learning weapons work from Dwalin and blacksmithing from Thorin.  Fili never grew tall but his shoulders broadened and his frame filled out with hard muscle that Kili longed to touch, simply to explore how it felt under his hands.  He did the opposite, growing tall and thin with whipcord strength in his limbs.  If he occasionally caught Fili watching him in the archery range, and if the blond’s cheeks flushed pink when Kili caught him staring, neither of them mentioned it.

When Kili was sixty years old, and Fili sixty-five, Thorin took them beyond the borders of their small town for the first time.  He had a large commission to work on in a human town to the west, deeper in the mountains, and decided that he would use the opportunity to introduce his nephew, since eventually Fili would be king and it would be him these people would trade with.

Kili went along because he couldn’t bear being separated from his beloved, confusing brother for the months they would be gone.

The very first night they were in the town Thorin told them that he would pack up and they could go out and enjoy themselves.  Being young dwarves with a healthy taste for ale it didn’t take them long to find themselves in the local tavern, very quickly working on becoming _spectacularly_ drunk.  They started out at the same table, but Fili gravitated slowly over to a table that was occupied by several loud, clearly intoxicated humans.  Kili kept to his corner, sipping at his drink and watching as his brother slowly reached the point of intoxication that he was no longer capable of dancing on the table, but was still determined to try.

So engrossed was he in the play of light on Fili’s blond hair, and blue eyes alight with laughter, that he didn’t notice the human girl sliding onto the bench beside him until she spoke.

“Well, I didn’t know that dwarves came as handsome as you,” she murmured, looking him up and down with blatant interest.

He glanced at her and forced a small smile.  “Thank you, I’m flattered but not interested,” he responded, turning back to his brother.

She pouted, tossed light hair over her shoulder, and leaned closer.  He wrinkled his nose at the scent of alcohol on her breath, knowing deep down he was being uncharitable; she was as drunk as his brother was, and he wasn’t blaming Fili for the flirtatious looks and winks he was bestowing on some of the human girls around their table.  He leaned away, taking a small sip of his ale, having quite lost his taste for drink tonight.

She didn’t take the hint, leaning even farther in and following his gaze.  “I’ve got hair just as pretty as his,” she breathed.  “If you come upstairs with me, and if you’re good, maybe I’ll let you touch it.”

Kili felt bile rise in his throat.  “I said I’m not interested,” he snapped, turning to glare at her.

She was evidently too intoxicated to care, and ignored him.  “C’mon, your lover up there won’t mind,” she purred, “It’ll just take a few minutes and you’ll be back before he notices.”

She _touched_ him, one hand trailing up his thigh suggestively.  Kili jerked to his feet, ale flying out of his hand in his panic to get away.  He stared down at the girl, who’d lost her balance and was trying to push herself up off the bench with limited success, horror flooding him and shaking his body with dry heaves.  He covered his mouth with his hand, looking around frantically.  No one seemed to have noticed, and with a final glance at Fili he ran for it, weaving only slightly, out of the tavern and out of the pool of light from its windows and out past the few houses that marked the edge of the town.

He didn’t even consider heading back to the small room they had rented, knowing that Thorin would be there and there was no way he wanted to confront Thorin with this.  How could he explain to his uncle that there were tears streaming down his face because a girl had touched him and he hadn’t liked it?  That the thought of bedding her hadn’t held any appeal and he got scared when she pushed?

He headed for the forest, diving into the familiar cover of dark trees and stumbling his way through until he found a tree with low enough branches that he could climb it even in his slightly drunk state.  There was a fork in the trunk about two man-heights above the ground; he wedged himself in, and let himself cry.  He cried for himself, for how he was _wrong_.  For Fili, perfect beautiful wonderful Fili who didn’t deserve whatever twisted affection Kili had for him.  For all of these stupid, stupid expectations of how he should act and what he should do and what he should feel.

***

He never did tell Fili why he had fled that night, and Fili never asked.  By mutual unspoken agreement they never told Thorin why it was that Fili came back alone late that night and Kili staggered in just before dawn.  The order that the men had commissioned was finished rapidly with three of them working on it and they were back in their own town in a matter of weeks.

Within a couple months Kili was itching to get out again.  He didn’t like being cooped up here, with all his confusion and hurt and most of all Fili being his usual confusing self.  Dis rapidly lost patience with his restlessness and informed him that if he couldn’t sit still through a half-hour long meal then he clearly needed a long hard job to burn some of his excess energy.  It was Fili who suggested that they go on a week long hunting trip, just the two of them.

Kili grumbled but honestly Fili’s company was still preferable to being stuck in the small village.  Only two days later saw them embracing their mother and uncle and setting out to the north, heading into the deepest part of the mountains.  Both of them carried hunting bows slung at their backs.  They didn’t make much progress in the first day of walking, since Kili kept teasing Fili about how much his aim sucked and Fili would retaliate by shoving his younger brother off the path into the underbrush.  They did better their second day, and reached the meadow they were aiming for around noon.

Thorin had taken them here once when they were both dwarflings, barely able to draw a bow let alone aim it.  They cleared an old fire pit at the edge of the trees and laid out their bedrolls beside it.  Kili shot down their first kill, a small deer that would feed them for the full week.  They roasted it long and slow over the fire, joking over the flames and flicking bits of grass at each other, and went to bed full and content.

Content, that is, until Kili woke in the middle of the night shaking and sweating, tears rolling down his face.  He’d had nightmares since he was a child, and though they happened less often now they still affected him just as much.  This time it had been about Fili, which was fairly usual.  Most frequently his dreams involved Fili hurt or dying and always the worst part was knowing that he had failed, that his brother was dead and it was _all his fault_.

He scrubbed his hands over his eyes and sat up, glancing over at the huddled bundle that was Fili before disregarding that idea.  He wasn’t a child anymore, to crawl into Fili’s bed and beg for reassurance when he’d had a bad dream.  Kicking off his sweaty tangle of blankets he stood and stretched.  He wasn’t going to be getting any more sleep for a while; he might as well do something interesting.

There was a large, reasonably flat rock in the middle of the field where they were camped, its surface smoothed by millennia of rain.  It was high summer and the night air wasn’t that cold, but the sun-warmed granite felt nice against his back as he settled himself on the flattest part of the boulder and leaned with his hands behind his head.

The moon was a tiny crescent, now hovering just above the highest branches of the pine trees that surrounded their little meadow.  Kili craned his neck to locate his favorite constellations in the stars around and above him.  This high up in the mountains, with only the tallest peaks to block his view, it felt like being on top of the world, surrounded by the endless dome of stars.

He wasn’t entirely sure when Fili woke up, but he heard his brother rustling through the grass long before Fili reached his perch.  His older brother was one of the least stealthy dwarves he knew, and that included uncle Thorin.  Kili didn’t look around, tilting his head back to search for the North Star.

Fili pulled himself up onto the rock with a small grunt and lay down beside him, warm contact along his right side.  Neither said anything for long moments, breath falling into an easy unison.  The moon dipped below the trees as they stargazed, but their eyes were adjusted to the bright starlight. 

Finally, Fili broke the silence.  “Did you have another nightmare, Kili?”

Kili shrugged.  “I don’t really want to talk about it,” he muttered, fixing his eyes on a particularly bright star just above him.

Fili huffed at him, shifting around loudly, but Kili didn’t look over to see what he was doing.  “You know it’s better if you talk to me—“

“I heard a new story while we were in staying with Thorin,” Kili interrupted, changing the subject to the first thing that came to mind.

“What?”

“I heard a new story, from one of the men who was waiting for a weapon from us,” Kili said slowly, clearly, before resuming his usual rapid pace.  “It was some kind of love story.  A man was so in love with a woman that he promised to bring her the brightest star from the sky.  And he did it.  Humans have such an odd idea of romance.  Bloody ridiculous, right?”

Fili didn’t say anything, and didn’t move from where he was propped up on one elbow at Kili’s side.  Kili blinked and frowned; honestly he’d expected that Fili would have _something_ to say in response to that story.  He finally lifted his head to face his brother, and was startled to see Fili’s blue eyes on him, intense and unblinking.  Without thinking, Kili licked his lips, and he didn’t miss Fili’s eyes flickering down to the motion before he appeared to wrench them up again.

No.  There was no possible way that he was thinking…but there was a pink flush high in Fili’s cheeks and Kili couldn’t help glancing down at his mouth, outlined gently in the starlight and bottom lip bitten red by Fili worrying at it.  Then Fili closed his eyes, took a deep breath through his nose, and leaned in.

 _I’m still dreaming_ , Kili thought wildly, not daring to move as Fili hesitated a hairsbreadth away from his lips, breath tickling and one of the braids of his mustache brushing Kili’s cheek.  Kili didn’t dare breathe, finally letting out a tiny whimper as Fili still didn’t push in for a real kiss.

Finally Fili moved, brushing their lips together so lightly Kili wondered for a moment if he imagined it.  He was suddenly aware of his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears, feel it thudding against his ribs.  He wondered absently if Fili could hear it too, but it seemed not because the blond was pulling away with a small sigh and hitch of an inhale.  Kili whimpered again, the sound slipping out by accident as he pursued Fili and crushed their mouths together hard, painfully bumping their teeth together by mistake.

Fili let out a tiny noise of disbelief, hand coming up to cup the back of his head and twine in his hair and Kili buried his fingers in long silky golden locks to hold his brother in place as they kissed.  Fili’s lips were warm and chapped skin caught on Kili’s just a bit but it was so completely perfect that Kili could do nothing but lean helplessly into Fili’s grip and sigh happily.  He pushed for more pressure and Fili happily complied, mouth sliding open just a bit and oh that felt even better, hot and wet against his lips and the intoxicating flavor of Fili even though he still tasted a bit like sleep.

The kiss went back and forth for long moments, and Kili could feel Fili shaking against him.  Then one of Fili’s braids somehow got caught between their lips and the bead clacked against Kili’s teeth, and the brunet pulled away with a small laugh.  He would have gone back to what they’d been doing but Fili held him back gently and frowned at him in obvious concern.  Kili smiled, admittedly a little shakily, and Fili’s lips curled upward just a bit.

“I don’t think that story’s all that ridiculous,” Fili murmured, tracing his thumb over Kili’s lips while the younger blinked, taking a moment to remember just what Fili was talking about.  “It’s not ridiculous.  I’d fetch you every star in the sky if you wanted them.”

Kili opened and shut his mouth helplessly at that, feeling his face heat and a grin spreading across his cheeks.  He sat up and flung his arms around Fili, bearing his brother down onto the rock in another kiss.  He pressed light kisses to Fili’s mouth until the elder was laughing and gasping breathlessly for him to stop, then rolled off to lay at his side again, looking up at the sky.  “I love you too, Fili,” he whispered, heart in his throat.

Fili didn’t say anything, but he did reach down and interlace their fingers.  Kili smiled again, closing his eyes against happy tears that threatened to spill.

They fell asleep like that, side by side on the sun-warmed rock, and Kili wasn’t bothered with nightmares for the rest of the night.

***

When he awoke the next morning Fili was gone, and the rock by his side was cool.  Kili frowned as he sat up, trying to stretch out muscles that had gone stiff overnight.  _Had_ he dreamed of kissing Fili?

 _Most likely_ , he considered, grimacing as his shoulder twinged, _not like he would ever have actually kissed me.  Or said that about the stars.  Not for me._

He glanced over toward their small camp at the edge of the trees.  Fili was crouched over the fire, his back to Kili as he adjusted something over the flames.  Kili sighed, closing his eyes and touching his lips lightly with one finger.  It would have been nice if it hadn’t been a dream.

Hopping down off the rock he forced a smile onto his face before trotting over to sit beside his brother.  “Mind you don’t burn my breakfast there,” he teased, nudging Fili with his elbow.

Fili grunted, jostling him back hard enough that he lost his balance and had to catch himself.  “You’re the one who can burn water, Kili,” he muttered, not looking at him.

Kili frowned.  Normally his teasing could at least get a rise out of his brother.  “What’s up with you this morning?” he asked, sitting up and scooting to a safer distance.

The look Fili shot at him was laced with agony.  “I’m sorry,” he said, so low Kili had to strain to hear.  “You’re right.  I figured I should just pretend like it didn’t happen, but you’re better at that than I am.”  He tried to smile, but managed only a pained sort of smirk.

Kili blinked.  “What?” he asked stupidly.  No, it couldn’t have…

Fili turned back to the venison he was roasting.  “I shouldn’t have kissed you, I’m sorry,” he apologized again, eyes stubbornly turned forward.  “I should have known you didn’t want me to.”

Kili stared at him, opened and shut his mouth wordlessly, blinked again, and finally asked, “What makes you think I didn’t want you to?”

It took a moment before Fili seemed to fully process what he’d said, and he looked up with such disbelieving joy on his face that Kili couldn’t help smiling at him.  This time neither of them initiated it, or rather both did, as they leaned in as one for a chaste kiss that still had Kili’s heart pounding just as hard as it had last night, giddy happiness rushing through him.

They didn’t catch anything that day, partially because they were both completely distracted by the other’s presence.  Kili missed an easy shot when Fili let out a long slow breath behind him and it brushed lightly over his ear.  Fili missed one when Kili ghosted by him, silent as a shadow in pursuit of his own prey.  Neither was very upset about it, or so Kili guessed from the way Fili smiled as his eyes lingered on his younger brother.  He himself was so giddy he probably wouldn’t have been able to make a single shot _without_ Fili trailing behind him.

As the sun sank below the tops of the trees Kili finally turned to his brother with a rueful shrug.  Fili grinned at him, and reached for his hand.  Kili let himself be led back to their camp, curiosity piqued at the sudden spring in Fili’s step.  They hadn’t spoken out loud all day, and Kili was entirely content to allow the comfortable silence to continue.

When they ducked through the last of the trees around their meadow Fili turned and pulled Kili stumbling laughing forward into a kiss.  It was more involved than it had been last night, Fili’s mouth opening and tongue playing over the seam of Kili’s lips.  The brunet hesitated before allowing his lips to part, curious as Fili licked into his mouth.  Fili tasted…he didn’t taste like anything Kili could identify.  Like pine and the mountains and warm firelight.

Fili backed up step by step, pulling Kili along with hands linked behind his neck.  Kili went willingly, loving how warm Fili’s body felt against his and the shivery little noises his brother made when Kili linked his arms around Fili’s waist.  As he reached a bedroll (Kili couldn’t even see which it was) the blond toppled backwards onto it, pulling Kili down with him.

The brunet caught himself before he could land on and crush his brother and held himself up on all fours as Fili continued to kiss him.  The blond arched his back and whined loudly, hands yanking at Kili’s clothing as he tried to draw the younger down to him but Kili resisted.  His only plan at the moment was seeing just how many different sounds Fili would make in this situation.  Of course the next noise was one of frustration, and Fili’s arms tensed around his body just before the blond flipped them over.

Kili huffed as he landed on his back and pulled at Fili’s braids to get his mouth back.  Fili was apparently more interested in his neck suddenly, and Kili squirmed and tried to redirect him back to his lips.  The contact tickled and felt...shivery in an odd way.  Fili made another of those wonderful noises—a high _keen_ this time—and ground his hips down against his lower stomach.

The younger froze beneath him for a split second as he felt Fili’s hard, blatant erection drag against him through their clothes.  Oh.  _Oh._   That’s why Fili was making so many interesting sounds.  Fili moaned, again, his voice cracking at the peak of the cry even as he thrust against Kili, and Kili actually trembled at the pitch of it.  He was so very tempted to continue, to keep Fili making those lovely little moans and whimpers and keens, see him fall apart under his hands.  Not to mention, as Fili tucked his head into the crook of Kili’s neck to muffle his voice, Kili wanted to know just how high his brother could go.

He did take a moment to squirm away from the knee that was pressing uncomfortably into the muscle of his thigh.  _What is wrong with me?_ he thought, frowning slightly.  _Fili’s hard and all I’m thinking about is how my leg was falling asleep._

He grunted his frustration and pulled at Fili’s hair until he could kiss him again, trying to mirror the grinding movements of Fili’s hips.   _If I do this right I can make my body_ work _and feel what he’s feeling._

It seemed Fili had noticed the discrepancy too, as he huffed and pushed down harder against the younger, making Kili wince as sensitive parts were pinched a bit between their bodies.  “Fili…” he breathed, shifting to find a more comfortable angle. Fili either didn’t hear him or took it as encouragement, because he lifted off Kili’s groin a bit but only to work a hand between their bodies, trailing closer.

Kili couldn’t help it; his mind immediately flashed to the girl in the tavern, who hadn’t wanted to take no for an answer.  Even though he knew it was his brother hovering over him, not her, sick fear washed through him taking the place of the comfort and happiness of a split second before.

“Fili, stop!” he yelped, shoving at his brother’s chest.

He’d expected Fili to stop what he was doing, to sit up and demand to know what was wrong with him, be disgusted or insulted or feel cheated.  What he hadn’t expected was for Fili to jolt upright, scan his face frantically for a moment, and then fling himself away, hard.  Kili groaned, covering his face with both hands.  Now he’d gone and ruined it before whatever this was had even started…

He could hear Fili talking, but his brother was speaking so low and so rapidly it took him a moment to sort out the words.  When he did, he shot up as well, staring at his brother in disbelief.

“Shit, I’m so sorry Kili, I should have realized, I would never have…oh shit I’m so so sorry,”

“What are you sorry for?” Kili demanded, confused and shocked out of his own self-pity.

Fili didn’t look up from where he’d curled his legs up to his chest and pushed his face into his knees.  “I should’ve realized you didn’t want…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed.  I should have known and I kept pretending you loved me—“

“What?” Kili exclaimed, rolling onto his knees in front of his brother.  “Fili, what are you thinking?  What do you mean pretending I loved you?”

Fili glanced up at him, and Kili was shocked to see tears in his blue eyes before he ducked his head again.  “Fili, do you really think I don’t love you?”

A shrug was his only answer.  Kili snorted.  “Come on.  I wanted you to stop but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.  Hey, look at me.”

Fili shook his head, and with a sigh Kili leaned forward to lean his head against Fili’s knees as well.  “Fine.  Don’t look at me.  But you still have to listen.  I love you.  Last night was one of the most incredible of my life, because I never thought you might love me back.  I pretended nothing had happened this morning because I thought it must have been a dream.  I just wanted you to stop, it made me uncomfortable is all.”

Fili tilted his head until one eye was visible, wide and searching his face.  “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Kili shoved him lightly.  “Obviously.  And you stopped when I asked you to, so what’s the problem?”

Fili uncurled just a bit, cheeks turning redder, if that was possible.  “You didn’t…you weren’t…” he muttered, finally gesturing helplessly between his own legs.

Now it was Kili’s turn to blush a bit.  “Yeah.  I don’t know why not.  I’m sorry, I wanted to, I just can’t.”  Fili’s eyes widened, and he sighed.  “It has nothing to do with you,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck to hide the way his hand trembled.  “It’s never really appealed to me, with anyone.  Sorry.”

He didn’t dare meet Fili’s gaze, pulling one knee against his chest and looping one arm around it.  He picked at the fabric of his pants, waiting through the silence from his brother.  Fili didn’t speak for long moments, but Kili could hear him rustling as he shifted position. 

Finally, “What exactly do you want, Kili?” he asked quietly, tonelessly.

Kili shrugged.  “Don’t really know,” he mumbled.  “I never really thought about anything more than kissing.”

Fili let out a long, shuddering sigh, and Kili turned to look at him in surprise.  Fili was…smiling?  “Is that what has you worried?” he asked.

Kili made a face.  “Yes that’s what has me worried,” he huffed.  “It’s just a little strange, isn’t it?”

“Stranger than me taking thirty years to get up the courage to finally kiss you?” Fili asked.  “Stranger than kissing your brother?”

Kili scowled at him, and he laughed.  “Kili, I love you,” he said, suddenly earnest even with the remains of tear streaks on his face.  “All I care about is that I don’t do anything you don’t like.”

“Even if that means no sex?” Kili asked, smiling weakly when Fili’s blush deepened.  “It’s a word, Fee, just say it.”

“Fine,” Fili sighed.  “No sex.  And no I don’t mind at all.  I’m so happy that you’re still speaking to me after last night, when you’d be perfectly right not to.  And you wanted to kiss me too…Kili, there’s nothing I want more—“

“Shut up,” Kili laughed, finally reaching out for him and pulling at his arms.  “I just want to take it slow, yeah?  No sex.  But…I don’t mind everything before.  And I like it when you hold me.  And kissing.  Kissing is nice.”

Fili finally uncurled, pulling Kili in and folding his arms around him and pressing kisses to every inch of his face that he could reach while Kili flailed.  “Alright,” he whispered, finally relenting and just resting his cheek on Kili’s hair.  “Just kissing and holding.  That’s more than enough for me.”

Kili smiled and twisted so he could nudge his nose under the collar of Fili’s shirt and breathe him in.  What more could he want?

***

Kili almost wished he hadn’t said anything, because every single time there was any physical contact between them Fili had to ask if it was alright.  “Is this alright?” after he reached for Kili’s hand as they lay in their now-combined bedrolls.  “Is this alright?” before he curled against the younger to sleep that night.  “Is this alright?” before he pressed kisses between Kili’s shoulder blades while they were bathing.  “Is this alright?” when Kili tackled him to the ground and lay across his body as a limp, happy deadweight.

It was when they were finally packing up for the days walk home, packs heavy with their catch, and Fili visibly reached for his hand and then stopped himself and opened his mouth to speak that Kili finally snapped.  “Fili, I swear to Mahal if the words ‘is this alright’ leave your mouth again I’m going to punch you in the face!”

Fili’s mouth clicked shut and he blinked in surprise, then grinned ruefully.  “Sorry.  Was I getting annoying?”

“Yes,” Kili growled, yanking his pack onto his shoulders and reaching out for the elder’s hand.  He started down the road, hearing Fili stumble as he was pulled along.  After he regained his balance though, Fili gave his fingers a light squeeze, and Kili had to smile.  Maybe they could make this work after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Heart and Soul is not cooperating right now, so what do I do? Start another multichapter project of course. Sorry.  
> Comments are, as always, loved and appreciated and they fuel the writing impulses.


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